Earlier this month we were delighted to welcome a group of young people from the Youth Fed Ellesmere Port National Citizen Service (NCS) who chose Bridge Community Farms as the partner for their social project.

The Youth Federation is one of the North West’s leading youth charities providing support to 5,000 young and vulnerable people aged from eight to 25 years every year. Youth Fed inspires more than 2,000 young people aged 15–17 every year to engage in social action and delivers the Government’s National Citizen Service across Wirral, Halton and Cheshire. Through a combination of residential programmes and works shops, NCS equips young people with life-enhancing skills and helps them to build a new network and engage with community groups.

Two NCS groups came along to plant flower beds in our mandala garden in memory of a friend who very sadly took his own life. Mandala is Sanskrit for ‘circle’ and so our mandala garden comprises several beds in the shape of a circle. The garden will be used as a therapeutic environment for people with mental health problems and who may themselves be experiencing suicidal feelings. Research has shown that getting outdoors and doing activity such as gardening can help alleviate depression and other mental health problems – this kind of therapy is known as ecotherapy.

The NCS volunteers spent several days with us planting up the garden and on the final day the Deputy Mayor of Ellesmere Port, Cllr Lynne Clare, paid us a visit and admired the young people’s work.

See more photos on our Facebook page.

We are now starting to take orders for our standard organically-grown seasonal veg boxes (feeds 2-3 people). 

Your box will contain five portions of seasonal organically-grown vegetables – and you can choose from whatever we have in season. Onions, carrots and potatoes will be available most weeks, and we will also have cauliflowers, courgettes, tomatoes and leeks when they are available. To see what we have in stock come and see us at our pop-up stall every Thursday 11am-3pm. 

Boxes cost just £7.50 and payment is by cash upon collection. 

Once ordered, your box will be available to collect on Thursdays from the farm (at Mill Lane, Ellesmere Port), either at our pop-up stall (11am-3pm) or at the gate (5-6pm). We are also in the process of organising Saturday pick-up points and will keep you informed of where these are soon. 

To order your easy-to-carry box or bag, just let us know your name and contact details and whether you would like a fresh box every week or every fortnight. Contact Ben (our Growing and Production Manager) at gielty@msn.com or call us on 07825 840 595 Monday to Friday 8am–7pm.

Your favourite organically-grown vegetables are now available to buy from 20^th August throughout the rest of summer and the autumn at our very first pop-up stall on the Mill Lane farm site. 

We will be open from 11am–3pm every Thursday to give you a flavour of what to expect in our new veg box scheme, which you can now join from just £6 per box. 

This month we have carrots, onions, courgettes and cauliflowers – and soon we will also have leeks, parsnips and gorgeous tomatoes and potatoes for sale. Here’s how to find us. 

The pop up veg stall is just a taste of what is to come in the next few months at Bridge Community Farm so follow us on Facebook for our latest updates.

We will be celebrating the Great British Summer by removing the covers and starting up our first Summer Family Gardening Club!

Until the end of summer, the Club will help plant, weed and grow vegetables at our new horticulture centre (on the site of the old Sutton High School), and we’re on the lookout for new members.

We’ll brace whatever weather the British summer throws at us, and get our hands a little bit dirty. If you’re able to join us you’ll see the fruits (and vegetables) of your labour throughout the rest of the year.

So if your kids are missing their school gardening clubs, you want to get active, or you just want to take advantage of the sun and your spare time, then throw on some old clothes and come along to the new horticulture centre.

The Club will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout August, between 10am and midday. 

If you’re under 16, you will need to come with a parent or guardian. If you’re between 16 and 18 years old, we ask that you bring written permission to attend.

To find out more call Collette on 07847 824910 or email volunteersbcf@gmail.com